Merry-go-round.



` J. s. TUTTLE.

MERRY-GO-ROUND.

` APPLICATION FILED '13110.1, 1909. v

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

l SHEETSBEBET 1.`

Wma-3@ UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

JOSIAH S. TUTTLE, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, .ASSIGNOR T0 THE GEO. ERTEL COMPANY, 0F QUINCY, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

MERRY-GO-ROUND.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JosIAH S. TUTTLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Merry- Go- Rounds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to merry-go-rounds and more especially to machines of the character named which are caused to operate by the passengers or riders, and my object is to produce a machine of this character of simple, strong, durable and inexpensive construction which can be operated easily yby a small boy, which can be driven at more o r less speed accordingly as the force exerted bythe operator is increased or' diminished.

With these objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar fean tures of constructionand organization as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1, is a top plan view of a merrygo-round embodying my invention, certain of the duplicated parts being omitted and others broken away. Fig. 2, is a vertical section on line II-II of'Fig. 1. Fig. 3, Vis a section on line III-III of Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is a section on line IV-IV of Fig. 1. Fig. 5, is a vertical section of a slightly modified form of base and shaft.

In the said drawings where like reference characters kidentify corresponding parts, 1 indicates a preferably cast base' provided with sets of parallel radial outwardly-projecting arms 2, and bolted to and between the iianges of such sets are bars 3 equipped at their outer ends with underlying footblocks 4, to rest upon the ground or other support. The base is provided centrally with a vertical socket 5, communicating at its upper end with an enlargement or recess 6, and the arms 2 are provided with notches 7 for the reception of a large bevelgear wheel 8, the upper side of the wheel inwardof its teeth, constituting a circular track 9.

10 is a hard metal plate secured in the recess 6 and provided with an annular groove 11 extending concentrically of the center of the recess, and fitting in said groove and adapted to travel circularly therein are balls 12 surmounted by a hard metal cap 13, the latter having a groove 14 corresponding to groove 11 andv receivingV the upper portions of the balls. y

15 is a vertical shaft fitting `rigidly in socket 5 and projecting up through the ballbearing cap 13 a suitabledistance, and journaled on said shaft is a sleeve 16- provided with a base or enlargement 17 bearing a rigid relation to and resting upon the ballbearing cap 13, and projecting outward and upward `from the base of the sleeve are radial arms 18 terminating in vertical depending lugs 19 provided with stub-shafts r20 upon which are journaled track wheels 21 to run upon track 9- and bevel-gear pinions 22 engaging the gear-wheel, the wheels 21 serving to prevent the weight of theV gear pinions from resting upon the gear wheel 8. At its upper end the sleeve is provided with outwardly-projecting arms 23 provided with radial grooves 24 receiving the inner ends of radial bars 25, the latter being bolted at 26 to said arms, and bracing said bars 25, which are preferably horizontal, are radial inclined brace-bars 27 bolted attheir lower or inner ends at 28 to arms 18 and at their outer ends at 29 to said bars 25, the sleeveY 16, bars 25 and 27 constituting a rotary frame. p

30 and 31 are brackets secured rigidly to and depending from bars 25, and journaled in said brackets are shafts 32 provided at their inner ends with crank-arms 33 and at their outerends with crank-arms 34, and pivotally connected to the free ends of crank-arms 33 are the upper ends oflinks 35, said links terminating at their lower ends in substantially horizontal arms 36 pivotally connected to wrist-pins 37 projecting from vthe outer faces of the pinions 22, the links 35 being bent as explained in order to avoid conflict with the contiguous brace arms 27.

38 indicates a series of seats preferably in the form of horses as shown, or other animals, rockingly mounted at 39 on the rotary frame and pivot-ally connecting said seats to the free ends of the crank arms 34, are links 40.

In Fig. 5, a slight modification is shown in that the base land rigid shaft 15 are but a single casting, the shaft being turned down smoothly so that the sleeve 16 may turn thereon with as little friction as possible, and said shaft and base is cored out to provide the central bore or passage 15a, wherein may be conveniently secured an upright rod or post, not shown, as a support for a shade or canopy for the occupants of the swing, this canopy being desirable as a protection from the sun and rain, and it may be of any suitable or wellknown type.

In the practical operation of the machine, the riders or passengers will sway back and forth and thus impart rocking movement to their seats or mounts and hence to the shafts 32, which, through links and wristpins 37, impart rolling movement in a forward direction to the pinions and hence to the track wheels 21, the gear wheel thus acting as a fulcrum to effect revolving movement of the frame in a forward direction, the track wheels serving to make such movement smooth and steady. The machine can be operated easily by a single operator but of course more effectively and easily when two or more riders cooperate together by rocking their respective mounts.

The parts of the machine can be readily assembled in operative relation or disconnected for convenience of transportation or shipment.

In practice the machine will be equipped with an organ or other musical instrument connected so as to be played when the machine is in operation, but as this organ forms no indispensable feature of the invention it is not illustrated or described.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a merry-goround embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable and I wish it to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form proportion, detail construction and arrangement of the parts as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

A merry-go-round, comprising a suitable base having a recess in its upper side, a ballbearing arranged in said recess, a vertical shaft secured rigidly in the base and extending centrally up through the ball-bearing, a sleeve journaled on said shaft and provided at its upper end with radial outwardly-prol jecting arms 23 and at its lower end with upwardly and outwardly projecting arms 18, radial bars secured at their inner ends to arms 23, bars secured at their inner ends to arms 18 and extending divergingly upward and outward and secured at their ends to the first-named bars, lugs 19 depending from arms 18, wheels bearing a journaled relation to and carried by said lugs, gear pinions integral with said wheels, oscillatory objects mounted on the outer ends of the first-named bars, suitable means for transmitting power from the oscillatory objects to said gear pinions, and a master gear mounted on the base and engaged by said pinions and provided with a circular track for engagement by said wheels.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSIAH S. TUTTLE. Witnesses:

HELEN C. RoDenRs, Gr. Y. THonrE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

